15 September 2023 - We all recognise the need to change our current global course. Our hard-fought development progress is reversing under the combined impacts of climate-related disasters, economic uncertainties, and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We must take urgent action and use every potential opportunity to translate the vision of “leaving no-one behind” into reality. Our SDG transformation ambitions/aspirations are both possible and essential, but we need action now – and for that we need to know where to put our efforts to ensure no-one is left behind.
As the resource that describes the physical location of features around us, including what is on, above, and below the surface of the Earth, geospatial information underpins everything we do. In other words, geospatial information is data that is referenced to a location or place, such as geographic coordinates, an address, a building, or even a vehicle travelling along a road, ships at sea, and satellites in orbit.
All countries and all sectors need geospatial information to address national priorities, for national development and for decision-making. Geospatial information can help us change our present course, providing countries with better information and shared understanding to implement the SDGs.
The links and the digital divide between the global development agendas and the application of timely and reliable geospatial information have been identified and documented by the (UN-GGIM). This has primarily been done through the (UN-IGIF) to strengthen the geospatial resources and capacities of all Member States, as transitioning and ‘accelerating’ these key capabilities to ‘implementation reality’ is complex and remains an ongoing challenge for many countries.
The side event on on Sunday 17 September at UNHeadquarters in New York as part of the SDG Action Weekend,will demonstrate the immense value and utility of geospatial information and related technologies and how they contribute to the development agendas and priorities of the United Nations.
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